


Within the Walls

by UXRaven



Category: The Resident (2011)
Genre: Exhibitionism, F/M, Masturbation, Obsessive Behavior, Oral Sex, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:40:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28612218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UXRaven/pseuds/UXRaven
Summary: Max had one other tenant. Someone who stumbles upon his secret. Only questions are just what will she do with the knowledge, and can she avoid being sucked into his voyeuristic world?
Relationships: Max (The Resident)/Original Female Character(s), Max (The Resident)/You
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This had originally meant to be a quick one shot, but instead it took a life of its own.
> 
> Set during the first half of the film before derailing into it's own story.
> 
> Enjoy!

When you had found the advertisement for a low rent apartment you had thought it was too good to be true. You had thought the same when you had gone to see the building it was in for yourself.

The building was huge, and under severe refurbishment which meant work was constantly being done. Also there was the pesky issue that there was the underground railway which trundled right under the building itself, which made the place shake where it stood. Plus the utilities weren’t fully included in the price. Another disadvantage was that phone signals were shaky at best. It made sense why the place was priced so low. Even with those problems the place was situated in an ideal location and to be fair the space available was a decent size.

There was only one actual tenant at the time, an attractive woman named Juliet who happened to be a doctor. You knew that because she was walking the halls to her apartment and had introduced herself while you were being shown to the apartment.

The landlord who had shown you around the place was an older male, at least middle age, going by the greying beard that he sported. His name was Max and there was something attractive about him, even if he seemed nervous as hell around you. Actually he was almost devastatingly attractive, with a smile with dimples to virtually die for, accompanied with a deep rumbling voice, but his mannerisms suggested that he was unaware of how appealing he was.

The most you were able to find out about him was that he owned the place alongside his grandfather, whom he lived with, as well as took care of being as he was of poor disposition and unable to take proper care of himself.

It was only natural in the end when you were asked if you were interested that you said yes. Just a mere few days later after your checks were carried out you were handed the keys to the apartment, which was followed by you moving in the very next day.

The day you did move in what minimal belongings you had was carried in by the movers. Just some furniture and some crates filled with books. You had passed Juliet who had commented something along the lines that she wished she had been lucky to have picked the right movers.

You had simply given the woman a polite smile and a nod. Mostly you just weren’t into most normal social situations. You tended to put on a polite face but typically you kept yourself to yourself.

One thing you did notice as you followed the movers about was that Max was hovering around. At first you thought perhaps he was interested in welcoming you to the building, but then you noticed that he seemed to be mostly near where Juliet’s room was located. As though he was waiting for her presence.

Of course the male displayed an attraction to the attractive and successful female doctor. That was more or less the story of your life, where you were overlooked whether in regards to relationships, platonic or romantic, as well as when it came to careers.

It wasn’t that you were deemed unattractive. It was more that you were merely average. Nothing stood out about you. Not your hair, not your eyes, not even your figure or height. Average was deemed boring for most. Not even a change of hair colour during your younger experimental phase helped either. You merely blended into your surroundings, virtually becoming a shadow that no-one tended to notice, beyond a quick hello.

You quickly established in the days that followed that your assessment of Max was indeed true, being as you saw him entering Juliet’s apartment along with a bottle of wine at least once.

Another thing you established was just how noisy the place could be, no matter the time of day. During the day itself you tended to hear power tools as well as bangs coming from the surrounding rooms that were slowly, yet gradually being done up by Max himself. When you realised that Max was doing the place himself it had been a bit of a surprise, but it made sense to you, since it would save him money rather than having expensive contractors.

During the other times when you didn’t hear work being done you would hear the sound of soft creaking, which you put down to the building settling after each train that went by underneath.

You were a self employed freelance short story writer so it meant that you were at home the majority of the time. You had been used to noise at your last apartment, and would have happily stayed there if the landlord hadn’t decided to sell up. But the noise you went through now was either truly loud which didn’t bother you as much, or those low noises that actually disturbed you more instead.

Then the day came that you were getting annoyed in what you were writing. You had started an article off from scratch, and no matter what you attempted the flow just didn’t work, causing you to start all over again. It became beyond frustrating, and in a flare of temper you picked up the plastic water bottle next to you and threw it towards the wall.

It came at a moment where it was in the middle of rare and complete silence. You expected a satisfactory thud from the throw, instead the section of wall sounded odd. Almost hollow.

You got up from the chair situated at the desk that your laptop was upon and you walked over to that section of wall. You raised a hand up and pressed it against the wall. It felt solid enough to the touch. But that sound you heard had you rapping your knuckles against the wall.

Sure enough the sound echoed back indicating a hollowness behind the wall. It struck you then that the sounds you typically heard were sounds coming from the rest of the building. The sound travelling through empty spaces.

The building’s renovations suddenly made a whole lot of sense to you. If sound travelled that badly, then the heat of the building likely just seeped through to the outside, and vice versa. Which likely explained what Max had meant when he had remarked about how heating the place was more costly.

You could have just left it as that and gone back to try to write once more, but you were now curious about the hollowness in the walls. Was it just that one? Or did it apply to more walls and rooms?

Carefully you ended up tapping the wall, making your way along it. Continuing to hear that dull echo behind it. It carried on into the bedroom, going straight for a dark mark near the wardrobe. For the first time since being in the apartment you actually paid attention to it. You had noticed it before but figured it was part of the wood effect walls since there were various wood knots on other panels.

As you got near it you realised that it wasn’t just a knot mark, it was actually a hole. Easing towards the wall you attempted to look through, but all you saw was darkness. Considering the location you wondered whether Max had attempted to see if insulation was possible, only to abandon the idea.

Shaking your head you walked into the bathroom, your mission of checking the walls temporarily on pause due to a bathroom break. It was while you sat there on the porcelain throne that your mind wandered as you looked about the room, working out the run of the wall.

Your gaze ended up along what would be that wall, just at the wall of the bottom of the bath when you noticed that the mirror that was situated there had another knot hole just under it, not far from the corner, almost in line with the screw cover, which hid the screw that kept it there.

After finishing your business you cleaned up, and peered towards the hole. A quick assumption would simply make you think that the hole was from incorrectly drilling in the wrong place for the mirror. But like the hole in the bedroom it was a little larger and went through the wall completely.

Again you ducked down slightly and attempted to peer through. Again all you saw was darkness, and in this case something that smelled dusty was noticeable. This time you pushed your finger into that hole cautiously before withdrawing it. All you found was dust on your finger, which you promptly washed off.

One hole was strange, a second hole made it more mysterious.

Right from that an idea popped into your head, and you went back into the lounge and sat at the desk. You emptied the document of very few lines once more, and now an idea emerged of someone living in the walls, watching all the tenants while they went about their daily business.

The idea just flowed from your mind and through your fingers. You were so engrossed in what you were doing, that you hadn’t realised that the hours had passed you by. By the time the excitement and rush of the story was done, the intended short story of just a mere 1,000 words had already exceeded 6,000.

Too many words for the couple of publicists you had taken on. Still it wouldn't be wasted. You could always approach some other publicists to create a novella. After all you could always extend the story more. Or perhaps break it down into a small series.

Whatever the road taken you were almost tempted to thank Max for his shoddy upkeep the next time you saw him. That was if you ever did see him. He was so wrapped up in what he did, whether the possibly questionable upkeep or into Juliet that you doubted you would pass more than a few words when rent was due.

You let out a satisfied sigh from what you had written already, though your mind was now mulling through the new possibilities that you could do. Alternative variants of the current hermit story, going to a thriller of a killer in the walls, to even a more erotic version instead.

The ability to watch in on others you had to admit was an appealing one. In a sense it was what you did whenever you were forced into a large social environment. An outsider looking in.

You continued writing for a while longer, until the point that you realised that the room was dark, and the only light came from your laptop. Or at least it should have been.

With your eyes mostly already adjusted to the darkness you got up and walked towards the bedroom in order to ready yourself for bed. You weren’t exactly sure how late it was, just enough to know that darkness had taken over. When you were in the writing zone you had the potential to write into the early hours of the morning without even realising it.

What you hadn’t quite expected to see was a slight hint of light that seemed to come from the hole in the bedroom that you had spotted earlier. Perhaps light was just leaking from the next apartment which belonged to Juliet. An innocent idea if she had the same issues with the walls.

Keeping the place dark you wandered about to see if there was anywhere you missed earlier that was a source of light, to show other holes. Other than the bathroom you didn’t see any further holes. When it came to the kitchen however there was a faint hint of light that came from the space where the larder was.

There was a wall which was devoid of any shelves, and on the floor was that faint light. Not as bright as the one you had spotted in your bedroom.

With your curiosity peaked you ran your hand along the wall, then gently tapped at it, getting that hollow sound like you had done earlier in the day. It sounded from the taps that you did, that the entire wall was a hollow cavity.

With a small frown you pushed gently at the wall to how well it was secured by moving around the sides. All seemed normal until a section near the midpoint which flexed slightly. Going back into the kitchen you grabbed a torch from the side which was kept in case of blackouts, and went back into the larder.

Switching the torch on you ran the beam along the edge, seeing that the section that flexed had a slight bow to it. Not unusual to find on thinner planks of wood, as well as doors. In fact there was a very small gap along that same side. You left the larder again and grabbed your wallet, opting to take your library card out.

You went back into the larder once more and pushed the card into the thin gap then carefully ran it downwards until it came to a stop in the approximate place that a door catch would be.

The idea of a door being there made your heart begin to hammer within your chest. Maybe your creative imagination wasn’t too far from the truth. You could have been scared at the prospect, instead your writer's curiosity kept in firm control.

You went back out of the larder again back into the kitchen, then opened a cupboard up which you kept a box full of tools. It was a habit to have the tools even if you had barely used them.

You took out a flat head screwdriver and went back into the larder, torch in your other hand, where you used it to pry the doors latch open. The door opened inwards into the larder, which had you holding your breath.

Cautiously you peered behind the door and saw that the space behind was more than big enough for someone to stand in. You edged towards the space, barely stepping a foot inside.

You then peered sideways, enough to see that there was a long corridor, where the faint light came from much further along. You weren’t certain but you could almost swear that you saw the light move.

As much as you wanted to explore the corridor you couldn’t. A hint of fear was creeping along within you. Instead you stepped back out of the space and closed the door, but not before spotting that there was still a handle on the other side of the door.

With a hint of paranoia you grabbed a chair from the kitchen and shoved it against the door, in a meagre attempt to prevent the door from being used.

To say that you were on edge for the remainder of the night was an understatement. You ended up sitting on a chair in the kitchen while holding onto a baseball bat, which you kept for protection purposes, and kept watch of that door, until you fell asleep from exhaustion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've taken a few liberties in regards to the hidden passageways so it works out for this story. The way I see it Max has himself a few different hidden ones throughout the whole building.

By morning it was clear that the chair you had placed by the door hadn’t moved an inch, which helped to reduce that paranoia you felt. You were tempted to knock on Max’s door to demand an explanation, but at the same time you wanted to find out more.

After a cup of black coffee followed by readying yourself for the day, you stepped out of the apartment for the first time in what felt like ages. You had decided to speak to Max, but that idea swiftly went out of your head when you spotted him hurrying down the stairs to leave the building.

You then headed back into the apartment, and headed straight for the larder. You pulled the chair away from the hidden door, then using the same method as the night before you gained entry to that hidden corridor. Making sure to use the chair to prop the door open so you could make a quick escape if needed.

With a torch in tow, as well as your baseball bat you began to make your way along the corridor. What you did find disturbing was that you came across the holes that you had spotted from within the apartment. Sure enough when you got close enough you could see right into your own bathroom, as well as the bedroom. There was even a two way mirror that was located in your bedroom.

What you did note to yourself was that the area around you had various cobwebs and undisturbed dust everywhere, suggesting it hadn’t been used in some time. It was a small consolation to know that you hadn’t been spied on in your time in the apartment.

The same however couldn’t be said further along where a turning was, where everything began to seem much more cleaner and tidier. No dust, no cobwebs, and what appeared to be makeshift seats that were lined up with more peepholes and even a grating, again with a two way mirror.

You had no idea what made you move to peer through, but you did. There you found yourself looking into the apartment of Juliet. The vent you spotted gave a much clearer view of the woman’s bathroom. One difference was that there was even a hole in the woman’s kitchen, which was not far from a similar door like the one in your own larder. One thing was clear and that was that Juliet certainly was being spied upon.

Going back to seeing Max hovering around her doorway when you were moving in it gave you an uneasy suspicion. You carried along the corridor which became slightly smaller until you came to the end of the corridor. It was another door.

You placed your hand onto the handle and with your breath catching in your throat, as well as feeling your heart pumping away in your ears you carefully pushed at the door. What you saw was a rail and to one side was some shirts hanging up. That made it clear as day that it was back of a wardrobe.

You didn’t dare to go beyond the wardrobe. The door was already slightly open, enough to see just about into a bedroom. It was what you heard that had your heart racing. You could just about hear raised voices coming from inside the apartment. One you recognised as Max and the other likely belonged to his grandfather. You couldn’t make out fully what was being argued about, but you could hear the accusation that Max was disgusting.

You then heard footsteps that seemed to indicate that they were headed towards the room. You eased the door shut then quickly made your way back along the corridor until you made it back into your apartment.

It was then that you had to face up to what you had discovered. Max was a voyeur and he was fixated upon Juliet.

You didn’t know what to do. Should you confront Max about his secret corridors? Should you call the police? Should you tell Juliet? Or maybe you could use it to your advantage for more of your writing?

The call of money was a strong one. You always scraped by. Enough to live on, but not enough to have a life. You could use the story to create a full blown novel.

You spent the day in a moral dilemma. One that you couldn’t easily make, though so many in your situation would be straight to the police.

You found yourself keeping an ear out near your door. Using your own peephole to try and see along the corridor. The irony that you were using that method whenever you heard a noise wasn’t lost on you.

It paid off later that day in the evening when you heard a noise, and very slowly opened your door a crack to peer up the corridor. You saw Juliet being walked to her door by Max. You watched as they conversed quietly before they parted ways. You then watched as Max stopped and watched the door from a distance, before Juliet’s door reopened. Max almost swiftly reached Juliet’s door, where they both went inside.

You closed your door quietly, then walked into your kitchen where your gaze went towards the larder. You bit onto your lip, then following what could be as bad as what Max had been doing you decided to go into the hidden corridor once more.

You made your way along as quietly as possible, keeping the beam of your torch low to the floor. It didn’t take much to discover where in the woman’s apartment they had ended up. Your breath caught in your throat as you saw them through the two way mirror in the bedroom.

Max was shirtless, which exposed tattoos that you had no idea even existed. While Juliet was topless other than her bra. They were in the middle of a passionate embrace.

Although you knew you shouldn’t be watching you couldn’t tear your eyes away, while he briefly pinned the woman's arms by her head. You were no stranger to watching porn. With your lack of dating, watching porn as well as reading erotic stories was your only means of getting any sexual gratification other than through masturbation.

In a way this felt no different. Your gaze was ultimately drawn to Max’s physique. You had previously wondered about the male, after all you had established before you moved in that he was attractive in a rugged sense. He wasn’t a powerfully built man with bulging muscles, but there was still a strong appeal to a naturally muscled large frame.

It was while you watched as Max started to kiss down Juliet’s torso that for a moment you wondered what the feeling of a beard upon your skin would feel like. You almost wished that you could be in position with him, even with what you knew about him.

You bit slightly onto your lower lip as he kissed down the woman’s stomach, feeling a small flip flop within your own stomach. You were practically willing for him to go lower. Then for a reason you couldn’t fathom you heard the woman telling him to stop.

Unsurprisingly Max appeared to have a hard time to react to the request, that was until Juilet became more forceful. You saw the look of disappointment and hurt in his features as she told him that she couldn’t do it.

In a brief flash of resentment you actually sided with Max, in that Juliet had strung him along. You watched as he left the woman, and you slowly backed away from the mirror. It slowly occurred to you that you virtually had no shame in watching the pair.

You remained where you were for a moment, getting lost in your thoughts as well as the feeling that spread through you, which you didn’t want to admit to was actually arousal.

It was then that you heard faint bangs, coming from further down the corridor where the entrance from Max’s wardrobe was. You made a rapid exit in the opposite direction, not wanting to be caught within the walls.

By the time you were back in your apartment, there was a mild shake to your form. You were however aware of the quiet bangs that came from within the walls, a sign perhaps that Max was taking up a spot further along so he could watch Juliet.

Once you were in bed a little while later, your mind was very much on what you had witnessed within the walls. Your gaze went over to the two way mirror, and you began to imagine that you were also being watched.

You thought about how Max had kissed Juliet as well as exploring her torso and you felt a warmth of arousal go through you once more. It had been some time since you had indulged in your own pleasure, in fact you had been so busy as of late that you couldn’t even recall the last time you had done so.

Your own hand travelled down your vest covered torso as you thought about what you had seen, virtually imagining that it was Max’s touch instead. Your breath hitched within your throat and you closed your eyes as your hand slipped inside of your underwear.

Your fingers danced about the heat between your legs, exploring yourself slowly as the slickness down there increased. Your fingers moved up enough to tease at the small bundle of nerves, that touch sent small jolts through you.

While you teased yourself in that manner the want for more increased. You found yourself opening your eyes and looking back towards the mirror. With the idea set firm in your head of being watched, the idea was more appealing than you had thought it would be. You felt a rush of braveness in which you moved positions. Enough that you could see yourself as well as the dampness of your underwear since your legs were bent at the knee and parted.

You arched your back slightly as you rubbed harder at yourself. The motion spreading a heat throughout your body, heat making its way over your features. Your breathing came in bursts as you brought yourself right to the brink of orgasm, only to stop yourself.

Your hips twitched uncontrollably, as that need for release pulsated through you. You kept your gaze upon the mirror, unable to stop yourself from imagining that you were being watched. Your hand slipped down further until you were able to push a digit within your own depths.

You gasped out from the feeling, your own inner muscles clamping down and after a mere few pumps of your finger you curled that digit to strike towards the sweet spot within you. You couldn’t help but cry out loudly as your climax hit you hard.

You fell asleep from exhaustion just afterwards, succeeding in emptying your mind of pretty much anything. Just sleeping through the haze of self gratification.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day you had more or less decided to keep Max’s dirty little secret to yourself. Especially after your own behaviour. You couldn’t condemn him while you had become turned on just by doing the same thing.

You spent the morning writing more of your work. You hadn’t heard any work being done on the neighbouring rooms so you knew that Max wasn’t working.

It was the early afternoon that you then heard another bang coming from the walls. You were fairly certain but you still wondered right then whether Max was behind them once more. A thought that had you biting your lip.

In the early evening you were still working towards your deadline when you heard a loud crash coming from the next apartment. In a flash you were on your feet and about to go and knock next door, when something inside of you stopped you from doing so. You realised that you couldn’t bring yourself to talk to Juliet, not after what you knew and saw.

As much as you were tempted to go within the walls to find out what happened you managed to resist from doing so.

You heard nothing more that day and managed to finish writing one version of the short horror story that you had been hired to do. About a creeper in a house who was living in a previously sealed off attic, a story partially influenced by recent events.

By the next day you were feeling mildly drained. You were also unsettled upon not knowing what had been going on in the next apartment. You kept looking over towards the larder door. Once more finding yourself drawn towards the space within the walls.

Before you could even contemplate what you were doing, you were making your way back within the walls and slowly making your way along in the darkness, to see from a distance if Max was in there.

There was a small glow of light from the area where he could see into Juliet’s apartment, but there was no sign of Max. Taking a steady breath you carefully moved around the area and moved between each peephole.

What you didn’t expect to see was Max inside of the otherwise empty apartment. He was within the bathroom and in a bizarre manner he was using what you assumed to be Juliet’s toothbrush. The usage was just so slow and almost sexual.

You watched him silently as you could in a weird mixture of revulsion and fascination. You then watched as after he was done using the implement he then climbed fully clothed into the woman’s bath.

He leaned back and closed his eyes, where you figured that he was imagining the woman being in the bath. You then watched with eyes wide as he undid his belt and his zipper before pushing his hand inside of his jeans.

Your breath caught within your throat as you quickly caught onto the fact that he was pleasuring himself. Still however you couldn’t pull your gaze away. It was an act which considering where he was, was an action of power and vulnerability all at the same time.

You watched his facial expressions, along with the pumping motions he made within his jeans, as he brought himself into a state of bliss. You were mentally pushing him along, wanting to see and hear him as he brought himself into a state of release.

As before a sense of arousal flooded you, making you press your thighs together. You were no stranger to male masturbation, at least in watching porn and reading about it. But this was the first time in the flesh, well so to speak.

When he got out you followed by moving along to the next peephole to see that he was making his way towards the kitchen. Through that hole your heart virtually stopped as you saw him heading towards where the door to his secret entrance was. You knew you had to flee, and you did as rapidly as you dared to.

When you got into your apartment your heart was racing once more, and you realised that you almost wished that he had caught you within his walls. Doing what he did.

In a sort of daze and flooded in arousal once more you made your way into the bathroom. Once there you looked over towards the bath and as he had you climbed in while fully clothed, so you could give your body the gratification it now so desired.

Your hand slid past the waistband of your stretchy jeans and down into your underwear. Unlike the last time that you indulged in yourself you skipped the teasing and went straight to plunging a digit into your soaked depths, just to join another digit to give a better sense of fullness.

Your hips twitched and arched as you paved your way to bringing about your own orgasm. Your mind as well on your own pleasure was also once more on Max as you envisioned him satisfying himself in Juliet’s bathtub.

As you came close you set your gaze upon where the spy hole was, and much like before you imagined that he was behind that wall, watching you as you had him.

Your legs buckled in the tub causing you to slide further down the tub as you curled your fingers in such a manner to trigger your climax. You cried out loudly, your voice echoing within the bathroom.

After you stayed in the tub for a while longer while you gained the energy required to get out of it. Much like before there was no shame in regards to your own reaction to what you had seen.

You gave in shortly after getting out the tub to daytime nap, not feeling as energised as you possibly could. You stayed asleep a lot longer than you intended to and didn’t awaken until you heard what sounded like a dog barking.

You peered at the bedside clock and saw that it was early evening. You certainly hadn’t intended to sleep for that amount of time. You knew now that it meant that you’d be up until the early hours of the next day.

The dog barking however puzzled you. It had been made very clear before you accepted the apartment that no pets were allowed within the building. Had Juliet been so stupid to bring an animal into the place?

You didn’t think about it too much, other than briefly considering going into the walls to see what the woman was doing. It was purely willpower that had you staying on the right side of the walls.

A couple hours later you were able to hear something coming from the next apartment. It sounded like someone having sex. For a brief moment you had a flare up of jealousy thinking that she had ended up bedding Max even after not going through with it just a couple of days before.

That thought tugged within your chest in a way that you hadn’t truly felt before. Again the pull of the wall called to you, wanting to know whether it truly was the case.

You just hated the thought of the woman getting her claws into him like that, and you were almost praying that the male had nothing to do with those sounds of sex coming from the next apartment. She didn’t deserve his attention.

You wanted that attention. You wanted his eyes on you instead. You wanted to have the sense of him watching your every movement. You also wanted to do the same to him so you knew that you could have him all to yourself. Even if the man had barely said more than a single word to you since you had moved in.

Then it dawned on you, you felt almost just as fixated on Max as he likely was on Juliet. It was a sobering thought that once more managed to curb the urge go within the walls.

Sometime after you heard the door open to the next apartment, and you peered out. Seeing a male you didn’t recognise along with a dog walking away. So Juliet’s roll in the sack wasn’t Max. You let out a sigh of relief.

A couple of hours later the curbed urge failed with you going within the walls once more. It was darker once more, causing you to use the torch, though you focused the beam onto the floor so it wouldn’t be obvious. Plus you wanted to see if Max had ever travelled in your direction.

Your own section of the corridor was losing some of the dust, but really you could only make out your own smaller footprints on the floor. There were no larger footprints to indicate that Max had ever even thought about peering on you.

That thought gave a dull strike of pain within your chest. The fantasy that you’d had about him watching you, was simply that, a fantasy. You were overlooked once more and it hurt.

Still you carried on down that corridor keeping the beam of light low until you came to that clearer section of Juliet’s viewing area. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at least to start with, until you spotted that the secret entrance to the woman’s apartment was left open. Not fully but enough to know that Max was likely in there right then.

He dared to move around while Juliet slept? That was a brave step. He yearned for her that much that he essentially put himself in danger.

In your own brave move you shifted towards the peep hole, going carefully between each one to see where Max was. You didn’t spot him at all. All you saw was Juliet asleep alone on her bed.

You were about to move off when the woman’s hand slipped down from the mattress to hang over the side. It was then that you caught a small movement. You then realised that Max was laying under the bed.

He moved himself enough so he could lift his head up so he could lick at the woman’s fingers while she slept.

You swallowed a lump that formed within your throat, while you raised a hand up to your mouth. You ran your fingertips over your lips while you watched him intently. Then parted your lips in order to bring a digit into your mouth, almost trying to replicate what it was he was doing.

You had no idea how long you watched him for, but when you saw him start to move out from under the bed with a look of satisfaction, you made sure that you headed off back towards your apartment.

You went to bed afterwards with a mixed feeling. Glad that you had spotted Max, but part of you also felt unsatisfied. Perhaps due to knowing that he had never come your way. That his attention would always be focussed on Juliet.

You made a decision as you lay there staring over towards the two way mirror. You were going to go back into the walls early the next morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Morning came and after you grabbed a bite to eat, you as planned went back within the walls. You walked as cautiously as ever making sure that the space was empty. As you reached the area of Juliet’s room you could hear a phone ringing within. Unlike before the mirror was covered up in a dust sheet.

You paused then brought yourself over towards the bedroom peep hole and peered through, where you saw the woman sleepily answer the phone. You watched her as it dawned on her that she had overslept. The woman apologised profusely as she got up quickly.

That knowledge had a small smile appear over your lips. If she had been in such a deep sleep it was no wonder that Max had been able to move around her apartment so easily.

You moved along the corridor further than you typically dared to go. Getting towards the door within Max’s wardrobe. From there you slowly opened it and peered out. The wardrobe door was open, and there laying in his bed was a sleeping Max.

You tilted your head slightly as you watched him silently. Making sure that you didn’t venture out into the room. You remained in his wardrobe, peering out at him. One of your hands lightly toyed with one of his shirts that was hanging up, all the while you took in the scent of the washing powder that he used on those shirts. 

From your position he had an innocent look about him while he slept. Even like that you were drawn to him. You took in how his hair was, the shape of his nose, his lips, at least what you make out within that mixture of light and dark facial hair. There wasn't a thing about him that you didn't find perfect.

A few minutes passed by, then you heard a sudden shout of his name, which had you ducking back and bringing the door close to being closed. You heard the rustling of bedcovers followed by Max getting up and going to help deal with his grandfather. All the while you could hear the elderly male cursing up a storm about the devil inside Max.

You eased the door shut and moved back along the corridor, back into the area of Juliet’s apartment. You knew it was only time before Max would venture behind the walls for whatever else he intended to do in the woman’s apartment.

You remained in that area, on the side closer to your own abandoned corridor. Your form stayed close to the dark walls. Even when you heard movement you stayed where you were. You didn’t know what was driving you right at that moment, all you did know that you could hear your heartbeat pounding away within your ears.

It was only several seconds later that you spotted the shape of Max as he ventured into his favourite space. His attention went nowhere in the direction of where you were. Even like this you were overlooked as he went to make a move to open the entrance to Juliet’s apartment.

The bravado that you initially had faded away, making you just want to head back to where you would be forever unnoticed. The only problem was you didn’t notice the plank of wood that stuck out right near you, causing you to smack your hand against the wall as you managed to catch yourself from falling.

“The hell?” You heard Max’s voice, which in turn made you shoot a look in his direction.

He stood there dumbfounded as he realised that he wasn’t alone within the walls of the building. His secret place. His expression then turned into a frown and he spoke your name in a questioning way.

You let out a shaky breath, finding that you just wanted to flee. It didn’t help that you didn’t know how he was going to react either. “Max.” You just about managed to find your voice, though it came out quiet in almost a whisper.

“What? How? How did you...?” His expression was as though he was caught in headlight beams. His gaze went around the area as if looking for a way to explain himself.

“I-I know.” You stammered briefly, your voice reducing to just a whisper.

“You know? No, no. You don’t know anything. This is my work storage area, you shouldn’t even be in here.” He gave a shake of his head. Though he tried to keep his words strong there was a tremble to his voice, which made his tone slightly lower.

He then turned his back on you and made a move to head back where he had come from.

“I know you’re watching Juliet!” You called out after him, your voice returning to you.

The words made him stop, though he kept his back to you. With him facing away you were actually able to build up a little confidence.

“I found your peepholes. Your mirrors." You half gestured towards the covered mirror. "I know you’ve been watching her. I know you’ve been in there.” You spoke up, though you weren’t certain how far to go.

Max slowly turned and looked back towards you. “How do you know?” He scowled slightly.

You wet your drying out lips, while feeling a lump form in your throat, as well as a tight knot within your stomach. You couldn’t help but take a shaky breath. “Because I watched you in there. Through those same holes.” You managed to admit.

You watched Max’s expression turn to one of surprise. “What?”

“I saw you with her when she rejected you. I saw what you did in her bathtub. I saw you last night under her bed.” You confessed while your voice wavered.

The look he had now was one of astonishment. “How long have you known?” He now asked, his gaze went over towards the two way mirror.

“A while now. I was working late, and the apartment was virtually pitch black. I saw the light coming through under the false wall in the larder. Found my way in. The next day I had a look around.” You half gestured around the area.

You spotted him swipe his tongue over his bottom lip. If anything he looked perplexed. You figured he was likely wondering why you hadn’t done anything about your discovery.

“You tell anyone?” He asked you in what appeared to be fear.

“No.” You answered simply with a shake of your head. “I just used the idea for one of my stories.” You admitted.

“Stories?” There was that frown again.

“I’m a freelance writer. I write short stories for certain publicists. I guess you don’t remember me telling you that…” Your voice trailed off. It was no wonder for you that he hadn’t taken in that detail. He had been more focussed on Juliet.

He turned slightly and moved to sink down onto a seat. Him gazing in what you figured longingly towards his various vantage points.

“She doesn’t deserve you.” You blurted out.

Max turned his head sharply in order to look at you.

“She doesn’t. She doesn’t want you. She wants that man that she slept with yesterday.” Your comment made his expression fall, making it clear for you that he had been watching the whole thing.

“What makes her so special for you?” You couldn’t help but ask quietly.

“She’s… She’s special. She’s… perfect. She’s the one. The one that’s meant to bring me out of these walls.” He answered you as he looked back away.

You were glad that he did, as those words struck you in a way that you hadn’t thought was even possible. It hurt. Just in the same way that it hurt when you realised he had never been in your area.

“But she won’t.” You told him in that same quiet tone.

“How do you know that?” He asked with a slight bluntness.

“Because she’ll never feel that way about you. She won’t want you watching her. She won’t understand.” You answered. You were half tempted to move over towards him, but there was a fearful side since at that moment you were still just on the outskirts of his favourite area.

“Why not?” He asked with an edge to his voice.

“Because she’s not like me.” You managed to answer within a whisper.

Max didn’t speak, but he did look in your direction. There was a hint of curiosity now in his expression.

“I’ve wanted you to watch me. I’ve done things while virtually praying that you were on the other side of the wall. I never knew how much I wanted things like that until what I saw in here.” You admitted once more. “But of course you never have. I know that. The dust tells me that.”

He kept his silence up and turned away from you once more. Even that small motion made you feel as rejected and unwanted as ever.

“I’m always the one that gets overlooked. Always on the outside and never on the inside. But in here, it’s different. I've seen things I never thought I would. I've seen you in ways I never thought and … god, you’re perfect to me.” Your voice broke slightly as tears threatened to break free. Your vision became blurry from the build up that grew.

It made it hard to tell what Max was doing, but for you his silence said it all. It was as much as you could bear to take.

“Seal up my door. Please. Let the dust fill up my footprints.” Your voice broke fully as a sob left you.

You now turned on the spot and began to make a rapid pace as close to a run that you dared to in the darkness of the corridor to get back to your apartment. You had barely got to the door when you felt a strong pair of arms go around you to prevent you from getting out the corridor.

You let out a frightened yelp as you were pulled against the larger bulk of Max's torso. "Let me go!" You shouted out as you attempted to pull away from him.

In the darkness of the corridor he relinquished his hold of you, just to grab you by the arm in order to turn you around, so he could push you against the dust and cobweb covered wall.

"No matter what you think you know, you don't know a damn thing. You know nothing about me." He stated between gritted teeth while he held you in place via your shoulders.

"I know you're alone and living in shadows in the walls. I know you're comfortable being in here and watching her. And I know your grandfather is a mentally abusive asshole!" You just couldn't stop yourself from snapping towards him.

Even in the darkness you could just make out that his expression was falling. The hold on your shoulders lessened. He dropped his head down and through that action you were able to catch the scent of the shower gel he used. You couldn't help but inhale deeply to know that scent.

"Nothing about me is perfect." His voice came out as a low rumble.

"You are to me. Like she is to you." You spoke in a quiet tone.

He lifted his head in order to look towards you, though you were just as much in the darkness as he was.

You raised a hand up, and although you had an uncertain shake going through you, you managed to place your hand onto his cheek.

You heard his breathing catch in his throat for the briefest of moments. You expected him to shake off the touch, but he didn't do such a thing.

You let your hand lay flat, allowing you to actually feel his beard. There was a mix between rough and softness to it. It was while you studied that feeling that your head tilted slightly as you almost zoned out.

You didn't notice really that your hand moved down his cheek and to his chin, until your fingertips came into contact with his lips.

Your own breath caught in your throat and you jerked your hand away. A rush of heat went over your features and you knew that you were turning red.

Max moved a hand away from your shoulders and caught you by the wrist. From there he brought your hand back up to his cheek, encouraging you to explore his cheek.

Through that encouragement you retrailed your fingertips over his beard, though you now realised that there was a tremble that went through you. You couldn’t truly see him very well, but you were able to feel him.

You became aware that you could feel his breath by your palm. His breathing had a hint of a shake to it. Maybe it was more to do with having a little more confidence in the dark, but you found yourself pushing up on your tiptoes to gain a little more height. From that movement you then shifted in enough to be able to press your lips against his.

You felt him stiffen up briefly, and for a moment you thought he would push you away. That was until he relaxed his form.

The kiss wasn’t rushed. It was slow. It was gentle. It was you testing the waters as it were. Uncertain if Max would reject the affection that you wanted so badly to give him.

He pulled back after a short while, and pulled your hand down from where it was still resting upon his cheek. You half expected him to just drop your arm, but instead his hand made its way against yours, his fingers threading between yours.

“How can you like me when you know what it is that I do?” He asked, his tone of voice suggesting that he was in a state of confusion.

That was something you didn’t really know the answer to. There was no logic to your own reasoning. That reasoning because he was perfect made no sense even to you.

You gave a gentle squeeze upon his hand. “I just do.” You told him in a quiet voice.

A heavy sigh left him and he shook his head. “Go. Get out of here.” He told you as he slipped his hand out of yours. Despite his choice of words there was no malice to them.

Even so you felt that tightness within your chest once more, taking it as a sign that you wouldn’t be accepted for what you were willing to give.

“Okay.” You did your best not to show how hurt you felt. You nodded slowly, then with him pulling himself back, you slipped past him and through the door into your apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slight delay in releasing this chapter due to the current lockdown.

After you stepped into your kitchen, you heard the faint click of your door being closed behind you. You looked back towards the door and with a heavy feeling in your chest you moved into the lounge to sink yourself down onto the chair by your desk.

You sat there in silence for a while before you opened up your laptop. You took the moment to go through your email, finding that the story you had submitted had been accepted with no issues.

You should have been happy to have completed an assignment on the first submission, but you were feeling too rejected to really take it in. You instead brought up a new document window and stared at the empty page for a moment.

Your fingers then poised over the keys as you chose a title for your next piece of work. You enlarged the font, made it bold, and underlined it. You wrote ‘Within the Walls’.

That was as far as you got before you heard a faint noise, like a slight shuffle from the wall. It was enough to make you look up and over to where the peephole was. Surely you were just imagining it however.

You sighed and shook your head. You then looked back towards the laptop. You stared at the title of the document, then with a slight rush of anger you slammed the laptop shut. You raised your hands up and ran them over your face.

You decided to head into the bathroom to run a bath. Thinking it would help at least a little to reduce the strain and stress that was building up inside of you. Granted that it was more a mental reason than a physical reason.

While you stood there beside the bath while it ran you thought you just about heard another sound coming from the wall. Now you knew you were just going crazy to the point that you were so wrapped up in the thought of Max that you were imagining sounds.

Getting annoyed with yourself you plunged your hand into the water of the bath, deeming it warm enough. Then tugged your clothes off where you tossed them haphazardly through the door and into your bedroom onto the floor.

You climbed into the tub and leaned forward to shut the taps off. You then leaned back into the water, feeling the heat soothe your aching muscles. You let out a sigh before taking a deep breath so you could slide down fully to duck your head under the water.

While under the water you heard the general clanking of the pipes where the call for hot water began to diminish. There was also another noise, more like a soft thud and a creak of floorboards.

That sound had you suddenly coming up for air and you looked around looking for the source. Your gaze then settled towards the peephole under the bathroom mirror and you frowned slightly.

“Max?” You called out in uncertainty.

There was a faint tap against the wall somewhere around the area of the peephole, and you realised then that you hadn’t imagined a thing. You really were being watched. That realisation gave a butterfly feeling within your stomach.

Timidly you raised a hand up to your chest and brushed your fingertips across your breasts within the water. A mixture of the heat of the water, the coolness of the air in the bathroom and your own touch, had your nipples standing to attention.

You lifted slightly up to expose your breasts to the surface of the water, then reached out for the bar of soap that was sitting on the side. You then ran the bar across your breasts in a small attempt to resemble your typical bath, before sliding it down the middle of your torso.

Your hand delved under the water, getting close towards going between your legs. You however avoided getting too close, choosing instead to raise a leg to run the bar of soap along the inside of your thigh.

As much as you tried not to, you found yourself looking over towards the area of the peephole. You tried to imagine what Max was doing behind the wall, but you had no idea. Did he simply watch or did he do things while behind those walls?

You focussed on that washing of your body. Making sure that you lifted your legs up out of the water. Those slow caresses of your own body had a warmth going through you, and it made you let out a shaky breath, while your torso twitched under the water.

After a little while and uncertain whether Max was even still there, you climbed out of the tub and grabbed a towel to wrap around your form. You made sure to bend over in order to pull the plug to drain the tub of the water.

You then padded through to the bedroom where you heard the faint noise of movement within the walls, followed by what sounded like someone stifling a sneeze. With the amount of dust in the corridor it was understandable for it to affect him in that way.

The noise itself, disturbing to most, was a reassurance to you to know that he was still there. You moved to sit down onto the bed, facing the full length mirror like you had done when you had simply been fantasising about being watched.

You let the towel fall open before you shifted it in order to dry yourself off. After you discarded it off onto the floor, you pushed yourself back a little onto the bed and leaned yourself back, though you reached back to grab a pillow to prop your torso up a little.

You then gingerly moved a hand down your form until it ended up at the growing heat between your legs. For now your legs were closer together, displaying at least a small hint of shyness.

Your fingers skimmed over the slickness that was already starting to appear between your legs. Your fingers then skimmed over that small cluster of nerves which not only had you gasping out, it also had your hips bucking up towards your own hand.

You closed your eyes as you then focussed on teasing yourself. Keeping your attention on that small cluster of nerves by rubbing and circling it. While you did this your legs gradually moved until you were more on display, as you gained more and more confidence.

Before long you were rubbing almost furiously at yourself, while you whimpered from the sensations that washed over you. Your hips continued to buck upwards, while your back arched.

Your free hand grabbed onto the covers, tightly holding onto it as the feeling of warmth grew more so, spreading throughout your entire body. You were getting so close. You could feel it, and it showed through your quick and heavy breathing.

You managed to stop yourself just before you hit your peak, pulling your hand back a little. You took that moment to catch your breath, though you emitted a whimper.

Your eyes opened up and you sent your gaze over towards the mirror. From that glimpse you saw how flustered you looked from the heat on your cheeks, while your eyes themselves had a look of want. Thinking about Max being behind that mirror and was watching your every move, or at least you assumed he still was, was what kept you going. 

Keeping your gaze on the mirror your hand slid down once more, sliding one of your fingers into your slicked up depths, causing you to let out a louder moan. You felt your inner muscles clamp down onto the digit.

You had virtually no control of yourself as you thrust your finger within yourself, strong enough that your palm slapped audibly against you. You didn’t manage to last for long before you altered the angle of that finger to strike at the sweet spot within you.

That action was all that was required in order for you to reach your peak. You couldn’t stop yourself from emitting a loud cry as the sensation washed over you. Your muscles tensing up as well as going into spasm, while your eyes snapped shut. It felt so strong to you that for a moment your vision went white, until black spots started to appear as you slowly came down.

As the feeling died down you slumped back, having risen up slightly from the bed through the arching of your form. You needed a moment to catch your breath, as exhaustion went through you.

You managed to look towards the mirror while you changed your position so there was a side on view. “Max?” You called out, your voice quiet, but hopefully loud enough for him to hear.

Unlike the last time you called out his name there was no sound. No tapping behind the wall. No sound of shuffling. Nothing.

A feeling of disappointment went through you. You could only assume that what you had heard before was a mistake on your part. That you had wanted it to happen so much that your own imagination had gone against you. You pushed yourself up into a sitting position and sighed heavily, before you got to your feet and grabbed your plain and simple bathrobe.

You slipped the bathrobe on, and did a simple loose knot on the belt before you walked out of the bedroom. You aimed for the kitchen so you could grab yourself a drink. All the while trying to ignore the disappointment that you felt.

You were in mid stride towards the refrigerator when you came to a sudden stop. There in the open larder, the hidden door was open. Just standing in that gap, but not venturing any further into the apartment was Max.

You didn’t say a word as you settled your gaze on him. He didn’t say a word either. In a sense his expression displayed awe.

Your feet moved of their own accord as you started to walk on over towards him. Spotting that he gulped within his throat. As you got close enough you moved your hands up so you could pull him down into a kiss.

There was a soft grunt on his part, as his mouth came into contact with yours, before that grunt gave way to a groan that seemed to rumble deep within his chest. His arms moved around you, bringing you close to his torso.

There was a mild shake that went through him, though you weren’t exactly sure what caused him to shake in that manner. From the way he was pressed up against your form you were able to feel that he was aroused.

That kiss unlike the first one was more confident for both of you. There was also a passion to it, causing your breathing to catch within your throat. With you still feeling sensitive from your self gratification it didn’t take much to stir up a want from inside of you.

You began to move yourself backwards, in order to draw him into your apartment. You gradually led him into the kitchen, managing to bump against the kitchen table, just about making it scrape against the floor.

That bump against the table ended up with his hands shifting down your form, so his hands went upon your waist. With a slight grunt on his part, he lifted you off the floor and onto the table.

You leaned back slightly, while he broke away from the kiss in order to trail his mouth along your jawline then down your neck. A shiver went along your spine as you felt the brushing of lips as well as his beard against your skin.

As his attention was brought to your pulse point you let out an audible gasp. In the meantime he nudged your legs apart so he could go between them.

The loose knot of your bathrobe slipped apart, causing the bathrobe itself to slide off of your form. From that happening you felt Max’s hands upon your bare skin as he shifted them onto your torso. You dimly noted that his hands felt somewhat calloused from his handy work. His hands briefly ran down your form, until his hands left you so he could tackle his belt.

You shifted your own hands upon him, moving them down his shirt until you were gripping onto the bottom of it. You then began to tug upon it to pull it up his torso. His hands left his fastenings so he could assist in the shirts removal, him having to pull away from your neck in the process.

His top was haphazardly tossed upon the floor while he leaned over you once more to draw you into another kiss. The urgency of the kiss showed as he then finished undoing his fastenings and shoved his pants downwards.

A gasp left you into the kiss as you felt his arousal prod against the heat between your legs. You altered the angle of your hips as he shifted you a little more towards the table's edge. Then with a little guidance required he managed to sink his length into you.

The action caused you to break the kiss as a small cry escaped you as your inner muscles clamped down onto him, giving you the sensation of being filled. It had been quite some time since you had last had sex with anyone, so that feeling felt incredible to you.

He grunted slightly, and after a beat to give you time to adjust to him, he then started up what became a rapid pace. His thrusts had him slapping against you, the sound virtually echoing around the kitchen.

You lifted your legs so your thighs were by his hips while they moved swiftly. That motion caused your kitchen table to creak slightly from the abuse it was currently receiving.

You held onto him via his shoulders, as you did your best to be able to move along with him. The whole time you had your sights upon him. Watching the furrow of his brow as he concentrated on what he was doing.

The build up within you much like the sex itself was a rapid one. You were able to feel your muscles twitch, while your breathing sped up. Although you couldn’t see it you knew that your features were flushed.

As your climax hit you, you let out a loud cry. You clung onto Max as your whole body stiffened up, while your inner muscles clamped tighter and went into spasm around him.

You felt him stiffen up also as his hips stuttered right before he released himself within your depths while letting out a deep rumbling groan. You held tightly onto him, keeping him close to you, as the sensation for both of you passed by.

Your breathing took a moment to return to something considered normal. It was only then that you began to lower your legs down, and loosened that hold upon his shoulders.

Max swept his tongue over his bottom lip as he looked down at you. He had a torn expression about him. As much as you wanted to ask what was wrong, you couldn’t.

In a sense you already knew what was wrong. You weren't Juliet.

He drew back from you, causing a soft moan to escape you as you were left with an empty feeling within you. You shifted your bathrobe back around you as you eased off the table and onto your feet.

You watched as in the meantime Max pulled his pants back into place and tucked himself away, right before leaning down to grab his shirt from the floor, so he could tug it over his head.

As he tugged the shirt down over his torso he set his gaze upon you. His head tilted slightly as he appeared to realise just how much you were watching him. “I, I better go.” He half mumbled out in a deep rumble.

He turned, then made his way into your larder and disappeared through the hidden doorway. It left you feeling not all that sure about what was to come.

Was that it? Did whatever curiosity he’d had about you get satisfied enough that he wouldn’t need to bother again? Did he feel guilty? Most importantly for you was whether he was just going so he could check in on Juliet?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out to be the most challenging of the chapters. I've rewritten this chapter multiple times to get an ending that I felt most satisfied by.
> 
> Thank you to those that have taken the time to read it.

The following morning you were awoken to the sound of banging. You lifted your head from the pillow and looked over towards your bedside clock. It was later than you thought it was. You surmised from those bangs that Max was back to his renovations of the building.

After getting up and getting yourself ready you went into the kitchen. While there you sorted yourself out a cup of black coffee, then leaned against the counter while having a quick bite of toast.

You couldn’t help but look at your kitchen table. The memory of what occurred on that table lingered, as did how you had felt at the time. You zoned out while you stood there, and before you knew it your coffee had turned stone cold.

You had to give yourself a mental shake before you set about the day of settling in front of your laptop. Your focus was supposed to be writing another assignment that you had been sent. You however struggled no matter what you attempted, since all you could think about was Max.

By late afternoon the bangs had finally subsided, and soon after you heard the door to Juliet’s apartment open and close. You aborted the latest attempt of work and pushed up onto your feet.

The call of the walls was there once more. Though now you wanted to see if Max was behind them. You hadn’t heard any faint movement behind them, and you wondered if he could be watching Juliet once more.

You pushed the entrance to the hidden passageway open and started to make your way along. With the amount of time you had spent within them it was more familiar to you, and in a sense it was comfortable there.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until you stepped into the area where Juliet’s peepholes were. What you discovered was a set of brand new panels in place, which appeared to cover up where the holes were. Even the two way mirror was fully covered.

It made no sense to you and as a result you felt your heart start to race. With worry filling you, you made your way further along the passageway until you were near the back of Max’s wardrobe.

You pressed a hand carefully against the closed door and gave it a gentle push. It moved a little, not making the slightest of noises. No real surprise there since Max would’ve needed the door to be as quiet as possible so he could come and go with ease.

You peered around the door seeing that the wardrobe was open as it had been each time you had ventured in its direction. You could just about hear something that resembled a quiet grunt.

Cautiously you moved just past the door and peered into Max’s room. He was there laying on top of the covers of his bed, while his jeans were unzipped. His palm was repeatedly going over himself, while his hips raised up every so often as he did his best to contain himself.

You chewed slightly on your lower lip as you watched him. Currently his eyes were closed, while he took shallow breaths through his nose. His lips pursed into a line while he clearly concentrated on what he was doing, not too much different to how you had seen him just the day before.

From what you could tell from where you stood he was fully erect, and potentially not all that far from release. His lips parted slightly and he let out a quiet yet audible breath. A name was just barely there in that breath. It was your name.

You looked on with wide eyes from hearing your own name, you expected to hear him breathe Juliet’s name, not yours. Then with you unable to stop yourself, you stepped fully out from his wardrobe and into his room. As quietly as you could you crept towards him.

He was so occupied in his strokes that he didn’t seem aware of your presence at all. Not until you took a bold step and moved to kneel upon the end of his bed.

His eyes snapped open and his hands motion stopped from the feel of the bed dipping slightly. His expression was one of surprise as well as the desire he had. That surprised look then became a questioning one as you moved to lean down.

That questioning look was answered as you brought a hand to his hardened length. Your hand replaced his, as you took over by running it over him. It was followed by you gingerly leaning further down and parting your lips so you could take him into your mouth.

A quiet groan left him, then in encouragement he brought his hand onto the back of your head. There he helped to guide you towards what he liked.

From there you took as much of him as you dared to in your mouth, while your hand took care of the rest of him by stroking him firmly. You couldn’t stop yourself from moaning quietly, while your gaze stayed on him. Seeing him go through the motions until you felt him start to twitch just before he released into your mouth.

He mostly collapsed onto the bed and peered down at you, as you pulled back a little and did the dutiful thing by swallowing what was in your mouth. Max raised a hand up and brought it to your face, where he used his thumb to wipe at the corner of your mouth.

Then in silent encouragement he urged you to move up so he could bring you down into a slow and virtually sensual kiss. In that moment you felt a closeness there that you hadn’t truly experienced in your lifetime.

After the kiss came to a natural end you both lay there on your sides while looking quietly at the other. The silence was then broken after some time by your own voice.

“You covered Juliet’s peepholes.” You spoke quietly.

“Yeah I did.” He gave a slow nod as he trailed a hand along your side.

“Why?” At that moment you were unsure of what he meant.

“I thought about what you said to me.” He stated as he swept his tongue briefly over his bottom lip. “I thought about what you did while I was behind your walls. Then about what we did.”

You lay there silently as he spoke. You wanted to prompt him into saying more, partly because of the way his voice seemed to wash over you due to his natural rumble, and of course because you truly wanted to know what was going on in his head. You however remained quiet, allowing him to speak in his own time.

“I never thought that anyone would do what you did for me. I thought that she did things for me, but I know that I’ve just been living in a fantasy.” He told you in such a soft tone that his rumble almost made his words knit together.

“I want reality.” He added as he moved his hand from your side and upon your back. That hand travelled up slowly until it was on the back of your head where he drew you into another kiss.

You closed your eyes from that kiss, it just felt so natural and right to you. Where he was on about wanting reality, you felt like you were drifting into a dream. One that you couldn’t have imagined either.

After a while of being in Max’s room it was only time before the shouts of his grandfather started up. You had given him a sympathetic look, before you slipped out of his room in the same manner as you had ended up there.

The evening came and in that time you had managed to feel settled enough to resume your writing, getting a fair amount done before you became aware of the feeling of being watched. 

You smiled to yourself. Then after a short while of just going about your usual evening activities such as cleaning up after yourself, you went back through the hidden door and into the passageway.

You didn’t get far into the space before you came across Max. He had a small lantern to help light up the area. One that was low enough that the light wasn’t blinding. “I thought you were watching me.” You remarked as a smile played across your face.

“Thought I was being quiet enough this time.” He commented with a faint chuckle.

“I didn’t hear you. I just felt like you were.” You explained, as you shifted towards him. “I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t imagining it.”

A large and genuine smile appeared over his features. Enough to bring out the dimples that you knew he had. It was a first for you to see him like it up close and in person.

You looked behind you briefly towards the partly open door that led into your apartment. “Do you think I could tempt you out from here?” You asked, as a hint of heat appeared over your cheeks.

“Depends.” He briefly wet his lips. “What did you have in mind?”

“I was wondering whether you’d like to see my bedroom up close.” You answered as you dared to reach out so you could take a gentle hold of his shirt.

Max looked down to where you had a hold of his shirt, then he looked back up towards you. “That does sound rather tempting.”

You let go of his shirt then brought your hand down towards his hand so you could take hold of it. Something that he willingingly allowed.

From there you led him out from behind his walls and through the apartment, towards your bedroom. Once there you turned to face him before the pair of you ended up within a kiss. One that had a gradual build to something that was more like exploration.

Your hands explored his torso by running over his chest as well as his back. He in turn roamed his own hands over your form. Something that had been ignored during your first time with him.

Gradually, bit by bit, both your clothes were removed. Those kisses left your mouths so your bodies could continue being explored.

You encouraged Max to lay back onto your bed, while you moved over him. Your lips moved over his collar bone, while your fingers virtually danced their way through his chest hair. Your fingertips ran over each one of his noticeable tattoos, running over the patterns of them.

After a while of you exploring his form, his arms came up to go around you. He moved you onto your back bringing you back into a kiss briefly before he trailed his mouth along your jawline and down your neck.

You arched your neck slightly in order to give a little more access, while a breath caught in your throat as he drew attention to your pulse point. As he seemed to focus there his hands trailed over your torso, roaming your sides as well as skimming over your breasts.

He trailed his mouth back up to yours drawing you back in which you responded to, as he did he ran his hands along your arms until he came to your wrists. Then he took hold of them and moved them to pin them by your head.

Your hands flexed briefly from being pinned, but you didn’t mind the move. His hands didn’t stay there for long, he released your wrists just to move his hands further up so he could join them with yours, his fingers threading through yours.

While you continued that shared kiss he moved his body and maneuvered one of his thighs between your legs in order to nudge them apart. He then broke that kiss and began to trail kisses towards your collar bone, right as he let go of yours hands.

He travelled his way down your torso, kissing and running the tip of his tongue across your flesh, his beard brushing against your skin as he did. He paid attention to both your breasts, his tongue swirling around your nipples as well as grazing his teeth upon them.

As he started to move lower once more you felt your stomach flip flop as you realised just where he was headed to. There was a hint of embarrassment for you as his hands went past your hips, moving to go upon your upper thighs so he could nestle between your legs.

A tremble when through you as at first you felt his breath upon you, right before you felt the warmth of his mouth go upon you. A gasp escaped you as he began to probe and explore you.

He used his arms to hold onto you via your hips, to prevent you from lurching too much, though unable to prevent you from bucking your hips. As his attention went upon that small cluster of nerves, you couldn’t help but let out a faint cry.

All you could do was close your eyes while you focussed on the sensations that washed over you. One hand went onto the back of his head, while the other took a fistful of bedcovers as he kept his attention on that sensitive nub.

It felt virtually sinful as he did things you didn’t even realise was possible down there. Clearly your previous experiences had not been anywhere near as satisfactory.

You could only lay there as his attention remained there, and you quickly found that a build up was occurring. Your breathing sped up, while a strong heat flooded your whole body. 

It was only time before you were hit by wave after wave as you reached your climax. You were unable to stop yourself from calling out his name before you let out a loud cry. Your body stiffened up, while your inner muscles went into spasm.

You released the hold of his hair, which until you started coming back down you hadn’t realised you had even done. You then lay there regaining your breath, as he pulled away in order to catch his own.

Max then shifted above you, though he paused to wipe a hand over his beard. He then peered down at you while he had a smile upon his face, presumably for having managed to get a satisfactory response from you.

You moved your arms up to go around his shoulders in order to pull him down into a kiss. As you did you were able to feel him pressing up against the slickness between your legs. The previous actions having apparently had a reaction on him as well.

For a brief moment he rubbed his length against you, before you felt him move a hand away from you in order to guide himself towards your entrance. From there he sank his way inside your depths, making you moan out into his mouth.

You held onto his shoulders while he started to move, but only after having given you a moment to adjust to him. Unlike that first time his movements weren’t as rapid, or as urgent.

There was still a good pace however, one that seemed to stir up your insides. You worked your hips in time with his, all the while you became more and more vocal, while he let out grunts and groans by your shoulder.

Gradually the movement of his thrusts became more urgent as you felt another build up inside of you. One of his hands gripped onto your hip as he continued to drive himself into you. Each movement rapidly brought you even closer.

You felt your body stiffen up as heat flooded your entire form. A flush made its way over your features, while your breathing sped up once again. Then what felt like an explosion happened within you, having you cry out once more.

You gripped onto his shoulders as you arched somewhat, all the while your body stiffened, while your inner muscles went into spasm around him. Within that cry you just about managed to call out to him as you had done before.

A drawn out groan left him as you felt his hips stutter. With a final deep thrust within you he released himself inside of you. He remained where he was for a moment while he kissed you upon the shoulder and regained his breath.

You needed a moment to catch your breath also. You relaxed your grip upon his shoulders just letting your hold loosen. You watched as he lifted his head up from your shoulder so he could peer down at you.

At that moment he didn’t say a word. He just seemed to flicker his gaze over your features as he appeared to study you. You stayed quiet, just merely wetting your lips. After just a moment or two a smile went over his features before he leaned down to brush his lips against yours.

After breaking that kiss he shifted off you, his body finally leaving yours. He moved onto his back, and with quiet encouragement you shifted so you could lay close to him, with your head rested upon his shoulder.

In that moment you felt content in his arms, even if you had the mild thought of whether you were just dreaming the whole thing. The steady beating of his heart within his chest however was a reassuring sound for you to hear.

“Stay the night with me?” You asked him in a quiet and somewhat exhausted tone.

“Sure I will.” Came the soft rumble of his voice.

A smile played over your lips as you settled comfortably against him. You felt so peaceful right at that moment, that you were barely aware when you started to drift off to sleep.

In the weeks and months that passed by Max came to you whenever he wasn’t doing his refurbishment work. Where you would partake in voyeur play. Sometimes he would be behind his walls where he would watch you, where you would perform for him. Then other times you would swap places where you could watch him instead.

To begin with he would only use his passageway to get to your apartment. But gradually he ended up using the main door to your apartment, where it became clear that you were in a relationship. Things moved on easily from there, where you both ended up in a position where you couldn't hide that you had both developed deep feelings for the other.

Max’s grandfather August didn’t approve of your relationship, so Max would spend as little time as possible with the old patriarch. Each time afterwards you would spend time reassuring him that there was nothing wrong with him, and there was nothing to be ashamed of.

It was almost a relief when August suffered a large stroke, then passed away from complications after contracting pneumonia. Max still felt a great loss after the last of his family passed, and with the help of your strength he managed to get through it.

When it came to Juliet, it was something that Max had struggled with to begin with as he moved on from his fantasy of her. You would find him every so often within the walls, as he contemplated taking the panels down. Each time you were able to talk him down and away.

It was something that was made easier when the woman handed in her tenancy after repairing her broken relationship with her estranged husband. The couple spent time on and off in the apartment until the tenancy agreement ended.

After her departure Max continued to refurbish the building, getting to a stage where he was able to start letting out the apartments one by one. With more money coming in he was able to let himself relax, while being the dutiful landlord.

For you, in between your normal short stories, you had submitted a long draft for the work you had composed with the ‘Within the Walls’ title. The idea was accepted and you had ended up with the task of completing a full erotic thriller.

Being with Max not only gave you plenty of ideas, but you were able to tell the story of what possibly could have happened to the landlord and his former obsession.


End file.
